Ice Age: New World, New Problems
by KaylaDestroyer
Summary: The herd is brought to the future by mad scientists, who take shine to one of the members enough to use him as a test experiment. But they need more than just one test subject. And no one knows who the worst bad-guy is.
1. Chapter 1: New World, Crazy Problem

Ice Age 4: New World, New Problems

Chapter 1: New World, Crazy problem

Diego woke up feeling dizzy. He could hardly remember what had happened before he fell asleep, and he felt really weird, like somehow his body had changed. He propped himself up on his elbows, and looked around. He was in some kind of human bed, and he had a blanket on top of him. He sat up and went to pull it off, and made a shocking discovery. He had hands!

" _What in the world? " _he thought. _" Sabers don't have hands! Humans do! " _he thought frantically. He looked from his hands up his arms to his shoulders. _" Those aren't my arms, and, my shoulders aren't that small! " _he thought as he observed himself. He reached for the blanket again, and lifted it up slowly, looking at himself.

His body was no longer covered with fur, but there was hair on his arms and legs . Other than that, he had bare skin, nails instead of claws, hands and feet instead of paws, his sabers were gone, and he was what humans call "naked". Figuring he should probably find some "clothes", he attempted to get up and walk. He swung his legs over one side of the bed, and slowly stood up. After a few seconds, he lost his balance, and fell against the wall.

Still determined, he slowly took a few steps forward, using the wall to keep his balance. He looked up at the wall in front of him, and saw some clothes hanging. Using the wall beside him, he worked his way over, took the clothes down, and put them on. Another difficult task. For some reason, there was a small pair of pants, and a longer one. The longer one had complications that really got him used to using his fingers, and he was constantly falling on his hind quarters.

The shirt was complicated as well. He kept on putting his head where one of his arms should be. When he finally got it right, and his balance was perfect, he walked around to see if he could find something reflective that he could look at himself with. He found something that could reflect his whole body, and studied his image. He had hair on his head like other humans, the clothes looked like they fit him pretty well, but why would and how did humans come up with clothes like this?

Then, he had a flashback, and remembered what had happened.

_Flash Back Starts-_

_Somehow, the herd had been taken to the future, and was currently fending off humans. But they kept on coming, and soon a group of them had Diego down. One male human pointed at him and said something, but a female human said something objecting. Then the male human said something decisive back, and picked up a human object. On one end, there was a small loop he could put his finger through, the rest of it was a long cylinder with lime-green liquid in it, and then what looked like a super long bee stinger, and probably worked like one too. Diego squirmed this way and that, trying to escape the grasp of the humans holding him down._

_But it was no use, and the male human walked toward him, the rest of the herd was defeated by now. The man had an evil grin that sent shivers down Diego's spine. He clawed and bit at the humans holding him down within his reach, but despite their pained winces, none of them let go. He heard Ellie's voice above his snarls and growls, " What are you doing to him? " The male glared at her and said something that sounded annoyed, then turned back to Diego, smiling evil again. Something about that smile brought up a sound in Diego he didn't often make._

_He tried to hold it back, but his mouth felt looser and looser as the man got closer and closer. He suddenly thrashed about wildly, causing the humans to release him. He got up and was about to run, when one of the humans hurt both of his front paws. He winced and managed to get away over to a wall some feet away. He sat down and inspected his paws, seeing blood trickle down from them. He started licking one, and looked up when he noticed a shadow cast over him._

_His eyes widened in terror when he saw the man with the human thing. He lips started to tremble, and he faintly heard Ellie call out, " DIEGO! " Then, he couldn't take it any more. He hunched down in submission and fear, a plead for mercy in his eyes, and he let out a whine. It was the most pitiful whine Diego had ever heard in his life, and he could hardly believe _he _ was the one making it. _

_He whined and whimpered as the man came ever closer and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He could hear Ellie screaming his name, and Manny shouting "No!". Then, all whining was caught in his throat and all sound and movement was paused, as the man gently but suddenly inserted the part that looked like a long bee stinger into somewhere on his neck, but not anywhere that would damage his veins or anything. Then, he pushed something, and Diego could feel the lime-green liquid being injected into his neck, it was getting caught in his blood stream, and spreading all over his body. He managed to click his tongue, before everything went black, and he felt his scruff being released , and he collapsed to the strangely hard ground. The last thing he heard was Manny faintly shouting, _

" _DIEGO, NO! "_

_And he barley heard Peaches scream, " DIEGOOOOOOOO! " before he went unconscious._

_Flash Back Ends-_

Diego stared at himself. They had turned him into one of their own. But _why? _What did they need _him_ for? Frantic thoughts began to tumble about in his mind.

Where was his herd? Had the humans done the same thing to them? Where exactly was he? Could he ever change back? He staggered back, and fell on the floor.

How come he didn't act like this when he first woke up? After discovering he had a human body, he had seemed totally calm, like he knew what he was doing. But now, he was flabbergasted beyond his knowledge. He rested his face in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. He had to escape, but it seemed like the room didn't have any way to enter or exit.

Suddenly, a delicious scent reached his nostrils. Pushing everything aside, sniffing the air, he turned around, and saw some meat sitting on something round on the ground. Next to it was a bowl of water. He got up on his hands and knees and slowly crawled over, and sniffed it suspiciously.

Nothing suspicious, nothing poisonous. He sat back down in front of it. Did the humans put his here for him? Were they trying to feed and take care of him? He slowly reached out one hand, and picked up a piece of it.

He held it up to his nose, and smelled it a little more. _" Deer! " _his mind thought instantly. His eyes widened, and he stared at the piece of meat. This was deer, one of his favorites! They had done something funny to it that made it feel warm, but smell delicious!

He stomach suddenly gave a loud rumble, and he grabbed it in pain, realizing how hungry he was. He was practically starving! He opened his mouth a little, but didn't make any other movement, and he started to drool.

" _Alright, feed yourself, then find a way out of this place. " _he thought, and crammed the piece of deer meat in his mouth, making his cheeks bulge some, chewing quickly and then swallowing. He looked down at the rest of the deer meat for a moment, before picking it up piece by piece, cramming it into his mouth, gobbling it all down.

When he finished, he wiped his mouth with his hand, then wiped his hand off on his shirt. Then he realized his throat was parched, and gently picked up the bowl of water with his hands. He cautiously tipped it downward toward his lips, and drank every last drop. Then he set the bowl down and wiped his mouth and then his shirt with his hand again. He just sat still for a moment, staring at the ground, which was quite colorful, not knowing what his next move should be.

He decided to observe the room and become familiar with his new surroundings. Apparently, there was no way out, and who knew how long he would be staying here. He knew where the bed was, so he looked next to the thing that could reflect images, and saw a weird structure next to it. It was tall and rectangular, and on the side he could see, there were horizontal rectangles etched onto it with little circles at both the left and right ends of each one. He slowly stood up, gained his balance, and cautiously walked over and grabbed one set of circles, one with each hand.

He gently pulled on them, and a rectangular compartment came out some, making him gasp in surprise. He stared at it for a moment, before pushing it back in. He looked to his right, and saw a 3-D square shaped object sitting on the ground right in front of one wall. There were circles on the bottom of the front of it, slightly curving outward. He got back down on his hands and knees, crawled over, and gently pressed one of the circles.

The front of the 3-D square lit up with an image, and music he had never heard of came out of no where, making him jump and back up against the bed. He stared at it, waiting for it to move. But the only thing that moved was the humans on it apparently dancing. He was about to creep back over to it, when he heard a creaking sound. He looked to his right, and saw one part of the wall swing out, and the same human man who had injected the liquid into his body stepped into the room.

Diego froze, what did this man want? Was he going to inject something else into him? Diego readied himself for whatever this guy was gonna' do. He narrowed his eyes, ready to hiss a warning at him. He knew humans couldn't growl, but he'd seen small children playing games about sabers, and they were quite good at hissing.

He looked at the 3-D square, then at Diego, and smiled kindly, with a little amusement in his eyes, which surprised him. Then he looked down at the objects Diego had left on the floor when he had finished eating. " Ah. I see you have figured out how to put on clothes, eaten your breakfast _and _discovered television. " he said. Diego blinked; he could understand this guy. Well, obviously, he was a human now after all.

The man knelt down and picked up the objects, then he looked back at Diego, still smiling kindly. " Do you want some more food and water? " he asked him. Diego studied him warily for a moment, then heard his stomach grumble again at the mention of food, and grabbed it in pain, and his throat suddenly felt as though it was completely dry, like there wasn't even any saliva in it. He looked up at the man, knowing he was probably Diego's only way of getting either of what he had just been offered, and nodded. The man's smile widened.

" Okay. " he replied. " More deer, or something else? " he asked him. That question sparked Diego's curiosity. What kind of meat did they have? He tried to answer him.

" S…som… something… " he struggled. The man held a hand up.

" Alright, I get it. Don't strain yourself. " he said. Then he looked out of the room, " Margaret! He needs more food and water. " he called. Diego heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and then he heard a female human's voice. It was the same female who had objected to something the man had said last…. Yester…. How long ago did he fall asleep? He would have to ask the man when he was able to speak better.

He saw the man give her the things, but he didn't see the female herself.

" What does he want food wise? " she asked the man. He smiled.

" I think we should surprise him. " he replied.

" And he needs water? " Diego heard Margaret ask. The man nodded.

" Alright. " she said, and Diego heard the sound of something hitting the floor again, and it faded as she got farther away. The man turned back to Diego, still smiling kindly. He was confused.

" I suppose you're curious about the television? " he asked him, and pointed at the 3-D square. Diego nodded, and he felt like a cub admitting that he didn't understand a certain tactic of hunting, since the human apparently knew about it. " Alright. Well, first of all, it's a form of entertainment that humans invented a long time ago. " he said. Diego nodded his head slowly.

" How… l..long….ago? " Diego asked, then smiled brightly. He had just succeeded in saying one full sentence! The man chuckled.

" Not too long ago from this century, but many years after your kind's existence. " he replied. Diego nodded, still smiling. He was getting better at talking. " The abbreviated term for television is "TV". Can you say that? " he said.

Diego replied, " T,v. " and smiled.

" Good. " the man said and nodded. " If you come over here, " he started, and walked over to the TV, reached behind it, and pulled out a small, flat yet 3-D rectangle. Diego tilted his head in confusion at it. " I can teach you how to use the "remote". " he finished. Diego eyed him warily, and remained still.

" I won't hurt you or do anything to you, I promise. " the man said. Diego waited a few seconds more before crawling over. When he reached him, he stopped and sat on his knees, a good few feet to the man's left, waiting to be spoken to. " Right. Now, see the buttons with the up and down arrows on them? " he asked him. Diego nodded.

" _So those are called buttons. " _he thought.

" Well, if you press them, you can, access different "channels" to watch. Each channel is like a big storage area for certain types of what are called "shows". Shows are like series, and each series has different episodes. An episode is like a lapse of time where something happens. " the man explained. Diego nodded, absorbing the information, understanding it quickly.

" Like for instance, a cooking show on a food or cooking channel would have an episode where, say, someone or more than one person made a cake. A well know cooking show is called "Ace of Cakes". " the man continued.

Diego interjected for a moment, " What's a…cake? " he asked. The man smiled.

" I'll show you sometime. " he replied. " But, you get my point? " he said. Diego nodded. " Good. " he said. " I think I know a channel you might like. It's called "Animal Planet". " he said, and began to change the channels with the remote, looking for it.

Diego felt a bit excited, since it sounded like a channel with shows only about animals. " One of my favorite shows on Animal Planet is "The Most Xtreme". It's really interesting, even if it does get gross or scary

sometimes. " he continued. " Ah! Here it is! Oh look, Most Xtreme is on right now! " he said. Diego looked at the TV, and the images he saw on it were amazing, he'd never seen anything like it.

The man sat with him and watched the TV while an episode about gross jobs in nature played. Some parts were so disgusting, both of them wrinkled their noses. A few minutes later, they heard Margaret's voice, " I brought food and water. " she said. Diego looked up at the female. She was quite pretty as a matter of fact.

He studied her for the first time. Blonde hair, red lips, light blue eyes, and a slim human figure. He smiled warmly at her, and she returned the gesture. She walked over to them, and kneeled down next to the male human. She handed him the circular object, with a different looking kind of meat on it this time, and the man held it out to Diego. Slowly, raising one eyebrow at them, he reached out took the circular thing from him, and began to eat what was on it.

After his first bite, Diego mind said, _" Buffalo! "_, another one of Diego's favorites. He smiled, it was warm and delicious, just like the deer. He began to eat quicker, but not so quickly or stuffed it in his mouth, figuring the two humans wouldn't want to see that, plus it was impolite. Once he was finished, Margaret passed the bowl of water to the man, and he passed it to Diego. Slowly, cautiously, Diego took the bowl of water and drank every last drop, just like last time.

He smiled at Margaret, " Thank…you. " he said. Then, frowned, realizing that all this was quite un-animal like for him, and looked away, wanting to change back. Wishing he were his cat self again; he wanted to find his herd and see if they were all right.

" What's wrong with you? " the man asked him. Diego didn't feel like answering, so he just sighed.

" Tony, you can't change an animal into a human and expect them to get comfortable real quick. " he heard Margaret say. _" So his name is Tony. " _Diego thought.

" I know. " Tony said. " But some animals are fast learners. I like to see which ones are, and I think he's one of them. " Diego listened to them in silence. Tony looked at Diego and smiled, then whispered something in Margaret's ear.

Diego instantly raised his guard, and Margaret smiled at him, before standing up and leaving them. Tony turned back to Diego, " I've got to go. Margaret will be back in a few minutes. " he said, and then left Diego alone. He sat in unbearable silence for a few moments, then stood up, and started pacing, trying to come up with a way to escape this little room, and find his herd. After a while, Margaret returned with something wrapped up in a strange piece of white material.

She smiled, " It's called a napkin. Humans use it for cleaning or wrapping up stuff. " she said. " There's a little something inside that I wrapped up. " Diego slowly crossed the room and allowed her to dump it in his hand. Then she left, and Diego sat down cross-legged.

He gently unwrapped the " napkin ", and saw a human biscuit. Figuring they probably wanted him to eat it, he sniffed it cautiously, then took a tiny nibble. It was good. He took a small bite, swallowed, before cramming the rest in his mouth hungrily. He had never liked human made food like this, but being a human, he figured, gave him new taste buds.

As well as meat, he could eat biscuits. Maybe he could eat fruits and vegetables, like his herd. That reminded him he needed to find some way out, and explore some. He went over to where Tony and Margaret would enter and exit, and gently pushed on the wall. It opened some, and he let go in surprise.

It swung closed again, and he pushed again, until it was open enough for him to step out. Once out, he let it swing closed, and looked around.

He was in what appeared to be a dimly lit tunnel made of some sort of hard, gray material. He looked back and forth between his direction options, before deciding to go right. He walked in silence for a while, before the sound of big commotion reached his ears. He soon came to an open door, and the sound was louder now. After a moment's hesitation, he carefully peeked around, and saw about fifty humans running around or standing and using odd, giant things.

Some were carrying around small animals, some were inserting smaller versions of the bee-stinger like thing he had been poked with in them, and some were just sitting around apparently writing notes in little books. He cautiously stepped through, and walked along a ledge that was connected to the wall. He passed other closed doors, with words written on them. He didn't bother trying to read them, he knew he couldn't.

Despite this, one title caught his eye. He didn't understand what it read, but it provoked him to open it. Looking behind himself at the activity below, he made sure no one had spotted him. He slowly grabbed the little attachment he saw at one side of the door, and on instinct, turned it. Then he cautiously pushed, and it opened.

…...

Sid sat solemnly on the cold, stone-like ground. He was being held captive by the strange humans who had taken Diego, as was the rest of the herd. He grabbed the hard, cold bars of strange material that stopped him from escaping his three-walled prison in a death grip, and was about to shake them with all his strength, when the door to the larger room around his prison opened. He instantly released the bars, hoping that if he seemed innocent and miserable enough, he would be set free. The door opened slowly and uncertainly, and a human Sid hadn't seen yet in this place stepped warily into the room.

There was no light except from the open door, and Sid couldn't make out the figure that well since he was so far away. The rest of the herd was asleep, and the only response from them was a loud, disturbed snore from Manny. The human slowly stepped forward, turning to look at the rest of the herd. Each species had been put into a different cell. It's eyes widened in surprise, and then it came to where he was.

It froze, staring at him, before squatting down closer to him. After a moment, it sat cross-legged on the ground, still staring at him. Sid observed the human: Male, light orange hair, bright green eyes, muscled build. The most interesting thing was that it's face seemed so familiar, like a friend he use to know, but had changed. Something clicked in the sloth's head, and he froze.

" _No, it's not, possible… " _he thought. He stared hard into the human's eyes again, and in his mind's eye, he saw Diego sitting in front him, hoping Sid would recognize his pal. But his eyes saw the human sitting in front of him. _" Could it be? " _Sid thought. He reached out a hand, and held it vertically.

The human touched Sid's with his own, and Sid blinked. When he had opened his eyes, he saw Diego sitting in front of him, his paw up against Sid's hand, with one of the solemnest, most agonized looks Sid had ever seen on his face. Sid blinked again out of shock, and the human was sitting in front of him again. He closed his fingers around the human's, finally understanding. " Diego. " he said quietly.

The human's eyes brightened, and he smiled a bit. Sid smiled back, although he felt like crying on the inside. This was what the humans had done to him; turned him into one of their own. But what did they need him for? Diego opened his mouth and said something that sounded like

" Simorso? "

Sid's smile vanished. He couldn't understand. " Simorso? " Diego asked again. Sid shook his head.

" I don't, understand you. " he said. Diego's face twisted in pain. How could Diego understand Sid, but Sid not understand Diego? They weren't sure. Physically they were separated by bars, but in reality, they were worlds apart.

Suddenly, Manny gave a loud trumpet a banged against the bars of his prison, causing Diego to fall backwards in surprise.

" Sid, what on earth were you doing? " Manny asked him, shocked at what he had seen.

" Don't you recognize him? " Sid asked Manny, who shook his head.

" No, " he said flatly, " it's a human, they're dangerous and almost always untrustworthy. I know you can be strange Sid but- " they suddenly heard a sniffling sound, and turned to see Diego crying, staring at Manny with watery eyes.

" Don't cry, do- don't cry, please? " Sid begged, staring at Diego with sympathetic eyes.

" Sid what has come over you? Who knows what it was trying to do to you! It probably deserves what it got! " Manny said. Diego pulled his knees up close to his chest, put his head in his arms, and sobbed a little louder.

" Manny, can't you _see_? Look at him! " Sid said. Diego raised his head in one last attempt to show Manny who he was.

_Manny's POV~_

Manny stared at the face of the sobbing human. A tearstained face with watery, red eyes was all that he saw at first glance. Then he stared into the human's eyes, and locked them with his. He blinked, and saw Diego laying in front of him, head bowed low to his forearms incase he needed to sob anymore. A look of shock and betrayal was all over his face.

Manny blinked again, and saw the human sitting on the ground, knees up, head bowed to it's arms. He stared at it in shock, and his eyes widened, realizing the truth. " Oh no. " he whispered, realizing what he had done.

_Normal POV~_

" Diego, I-I'm sorry! I just, I didn't know, didn't recognize, " Manny stuttered, unable to finish his apology. Diego stopped crying and wiped his eyes. He slowly stood up, walked over, and carefully extended a hand toward the mammoth's trunk. Manny wrapped his trunk around Diego's arm, then gently around his neck, and Diego rested his hand on it.

He forgave him. They smiled at each other, before a human voice disturbed the quiet.

_Diego's POV~_

" I don't care _what_ happened at this point! I want him found and back in that room! If he figures out how to tamper with anything, this whole project could be put in jeopardy! " Tony yelled. Diego quickly pulled away from Manny and hid behind a tall structure in the back of the room, cursing himself for leaving the door open. He heard someone step into the room, and felt his heart pounding against his ribcage, as if it weren't enough room and it wanted to burst out of his chest.

He froze when he heard more steps, closer to his hiding place. A whimper from Sid reached his ears, and he heard the sound of the sloth stepping back farther into his prison. He heard Manny give a low growl, and then the sound of the human taking something off of a wall. How could he hear so well? Maybe he still had some cat-like characteristics left in him.

Manny's growl became more intense, and Tony said, " Shut up you

animal! " Diego turned his head just in time to see Tony crack a whip in the air. Manny reared back and hit the bars of his prison with his front feet, before setting them on the ground again. Then he saw Tony crack the whip across Manny's trunk, making it bleed. He could have sworn he felt the hair all over his head bristle slightly.

Manny trumpeted in enragement and pain. Diego stood frozen; caught between the fear of being discovered and punished for what he had done, and the anger of Tony beating Manny. He saw that the rest of the herd was awake now from the ruckus, and Manny was backing away. Tony reached inside Manny's prison and cracked the whip across Ellie's forehead. She screamed, and before Tony had a chance to do anything to Peaches, Diego stepped out of his hiding place, launched himself into the air, making a loud yell, and crash landed on Tony.

The two wrestled on the ground for a few moments, but eventually Diego tore the whip from Tony's hand, threw it to the ground, and wrapped one hand around his throat in a death grip. Once he saw that Tony was gasping for breath, he pinned him against one wall, and pulled back his other fist, ready to sock him square in the face. Tony was already a good bit bruised up, but it didn't satisfy Diego unless he got what Diego thought he deserved for his cruelty to animals. " Diego wait! " he heard Ellie command anxiously, and held his fist in midair, turning to look at the female.

He knew Ellie was very kind, and understood that she probably thought this too violent. She stared at him for a moment, and he noticed that she had Peaches' face turned away. " Tell him how you feel first. " she said, then narrowed her eyes menacingly. " Then sock him so hard all his teeth will fall out and he'll have to see a doctor to get his jawbone fixed! " she commanded, and the herd stared at her in shock. Diego smiled at her, before turning and glaring back at Tony.

He loosened his grip slightly so that Tony wouldn't pass out or anything, and succeeded in being able to speak human perfectly, by letting loose curses, swears, swear words, threats, and more at Tony for what he had done and was going to do. It actually took him a full sixty seconds. Tony stared at him in fear and shock when he had finished, and Diego reared his fist back once more. Then he pushed it forward with power and force, hitting Tony square in the jaw.

A tooth soared through he air, and Diego could hear Crash and Eddie cheering behind him. Tony screamed in agony and crumpled to the ground, holding his jaw with both hands, blood everywhere. Then Diego looked toward the doorway and saw one of the humans that had been below him, running around doing stuff earlier. He called anxiously to some other men, and Diego could hear their footsteps. He ran forward and slammed the door closed, putting everyone in total darkness.

" You'll pay for this! " he heard Tony shout angrily, and could hear his stumbling footsteps as he searched blindly for Diego. In a few moments, Diego's eyes adjusted, and he saw almost clearly Tony bumbling around, muttering curses under his breath. He looked to his right, and spotted his herd shaking and looking around, completely blind except for Crash and Eddie and Ellie. He cautiously walked toward them, and tried to figure out how to free them. He tried the possums' prison first, since they were the closest.

" Diego, your eyes are glowing! " Crash whispered. Diego looked up at him in shock, before going back to figuring out how to free them. He finally did, and silently opened the door made of bars. Crash and Eddie slipped out, and he went to work on Manny, Ellie, and Peaches. This time he knew what to do and was quicker.

Once they were out, he freed Sid. He froze when he felt hot breath down the back of his neck, and moved just in time before Tony grabbed him. The sound of human hands grabbing the prison bars in a death grip rattled throughout the room.

" Augh! I'll find you! " he heard Tony shout in enragement. He quickly scrambled to his feet, and ran over to where the door was. He found the little attachment, opened the door, and sprinted out, knocking over the men surrounding him. Sid ran after him, carrying Crash and Eddie.

" Diego! " Manny shouted. Diego turned and saw that the three mammoths couldn't escape. He ran back over and looked inside. He saw that the whole back wall was a giant door. He motioned to Manny that he would be back, and dashed out again, Sid and the possums following him.

If he could get around behind that door, maybe he could open it without being seen. He remembered when they had first stumbled into this place, and he had seen the outside of the door. There was a large mechanism of sorts that he figured out opened the door. Right after that, the humans had attacked. He found some steps at the edge of the ledge, and they slipped by the madness of the frenzied humans unseen.

They sprinted around a corner, and Diego saw the mechanism. On either side of the giant door, there was a stand with a stick that had a ball on it's end sticking out. Those parts were connected to two arm looking things on each side of the door, and each would grab a giant notch on each side, thus making it two giant doors. He went over to one stand, and motioned Sid over to the other one. He figured out how to make his arm work, and Sid was able to copy him.

Manny, Ellie, and Peaches got out as soon as there was enough room, and the group sped off. Different tunnels branched off from the one they were in, and as they passed each one, they could hear groups of humans hard on their heels.

…...

_So, has it started out pretty okay? I just wanted to put this up since I have it as an upcoming on my profile. Now I can take it off and have an empty space! It's probably the second weirdest Ice Age story idea in the world. Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2: Deal

Hey everyone! Or, most likely, mwang. They wanted me to continue with this story, and they really liekd it, so here we are! the continuation of Diego's adventure as a human! Enjoy! This is for you, mwang!

* * *

Ice Age 4: New World, New Problems

Chapter 2: Deal

Diego sighed in frustration. Nearly every time they tried to make a turn, they'd come face to face with another batch of stupid humans! The building was practically crawling with them! They needed to find an exit fast, otherwise things were going to take a turn for the worst. He prayed that Tony wasn't one of their pursuers. He hoped with all his heart for a stroke of sheer luck; the humans had one advantage over them. They knew the building and passage ways, so they could plan some sort of block and capture them.

Diego used every opportunity, trying each and every tunnel branching off, hoping that he could somehow lead the herd out of this place. He suddenly heard a very loud tapping noise, and a female voice cursing. "_Margaret!_" he thought. She was second worst to Tony. Diego glanced behind him to see Ellie carrying Peaches in her trunk, while Manny carried Crash, Eddie, and Sid on his back. His heart twisted at the thought of them all ending up like him. He turned back around and put on a determined frown.

"_No, I'm gonna' make sure they at least get back home just the way they are._" he thought. He narrowed his eyes, "_Even if it kills me._"

"Stop right there, cat." Diego skidded to a halt as Margaret came into view, behind her were thousands of humans, all dressed and armed to end lives. Diego looked back at his herd, their terrified, shivering forms. He looked back at Margaret.

"What do you want, exactly?" he asked. Margaret pursed her lips before replying.

"You are our experiment. That means, you do not leave this building without our permission. You are to let us study you, and do what we please with you. Your friends are in the same place, only we haven't done anything to them. Yet." she replied. Diego looked at the ground, contemplating. "I also would like to watch you suffer for injuring my fiancé." she added. Diego quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Wait, you mean Tony?" he asked. Margaret narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes, _Tony_." she replied. Diego stared at her for a moment.

"Well, I think since I'm not only one of..._you_ now, species wise, I'm also knew, don't you think I deserve a little respect and liberty? Is this how you treat others of your kind?" he asked. Margaret, contemplated that for a moment. She sighed and tossed her long, golden blond hair.

"Well, we are in the land of the free and the home of the brave, so yes you do deserve rights." She narrowed her eyes once more. "But just to be safe, _we'll_ narrow down what rights we give you." Diego 'humphed'.

"Well, _I_ think that _I_ have the right to decide how I behave." he stated. Margaret raised and eyebrow at him.

"You can do what you want with me, _only_ if you take care of my herd and do nothing to them. If not, I will not hesitate to be the most nasty, difficult experiment you have ever had the displeasure of studying." he replied. Margaret studied the floor, weighing the pros and cons of Diego's deal. She finally looked back up at him.

"Alright, we won't do anything to them. But we still have to cage them." she agreed. Diego narrowed his eyes.

"Fine." he replied. He led the herd back to the room from before, and coaxed them back into the cages, promising them in his own language that everything would be okay, that they were safe now. Sid stared at him sadly as he left. "And Margaret," Diego added. The female turned to look at him. "I want lights in their room. It's not good for them to be in the dark." She nodded. She told one of the humans to give the animals light, and then gently grasped his arm. He looked down at her, surprisingly a foot taller than the female.

"Now come." she said in a soft, seducing voice. "We must return you to your quarters." Diego nodded, and allowed the female to guide him back to the room they had kept him in.

* * *

Margaret closed the door behind the experiment, and watched him through the window. She allowed an evil smirk to play on her lips as she produced a key from her blouse pocket and locked the door, then returned it. "And now, we must get cracking on how your friends are going to help us in the field of science." she said as she turned and strutted down the hallway. She soon arrived at a door, and knocked. Tony opened the door, holding some sort of medical wrap on his jaw. She took a hand and gently stroked his face. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"It's broken, there's a little internal bleeding, and a tooth missing, but besides that I'm fine." he replied. Margaret smiled and leaned forward, gently kissing his lips. "Don't worry," she said when they pulled apart. "He won't get by without suffering." She gently grasped his head in her hands. "You will be avenged my love." Tony smiled at her, his eyes sparkling. He placed a hand on her cheek.

"I was just wondering, where do you think the honeymoon should be?" he asked. Margaret thought for a moment.

"I always wanted to go to Brazil, and see Carneval." she replied. Tony nodded.

"That sounds wonderful." he replied. He stepped aside and allowed her to enter his room. It was lavishly decorated, with a large front room furnished with sofas, a few coffee tables, and sixty-two inch flat screen tv, an Xbox 360, and a Kinect. A counter ran almost the whole length of a hotel styled kitchen to the right, and to the left was a door that led to Tony's bedroom, which was decorated with a few lava lamps. "What do you say we discuss a few last minute wedding plans?" he asked. Margaret smiled and nodded, taking his arm in her hands.

* * *

Diego sat on his bed and sighed. He missed his friends, he wanted to be with them. At least nothing would happen to them. He looked over next to the reflective device and noticed a stack of books next to it. He walked over and sat down cross legged, then picked one up and opened it. For the next few hours, he taught himself how to read using the book's guidance, then how to write. He soon became bored though, and wondered what he could do.

As if to answer his question, and human came and opened his door. It was one of the humans that wore white cloth he had seen earlier. "Come along." he said. Diego uncertainly stood and followed him out of the room. The human led him to another room, and had him sit down on what he called a 'table'. Then he took a container of liquid and poured it onto something that looked like a miniature cloud, and dabbed it on Diego's left arm. Diego watched him warily.

"Now this may sting a little, but not horribly." the human said, picking up another instrument like the one Tony had used to inject something into him. Diego stiffened and scooted away. The human however walked over and gripped Diego's arm. Diego jerked, but the human held fast. "Relax, I'm just drawing a little blood."

"For what?" The human rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatingly.

"To analyze it, and figure out a few things about you." he replied. Diego pursed his lips, but let the human stick the pointed part of the instrument into the flesh on his forearm. He winced, there was a considerably bit of pain. He watched the tubular part of the instrument fill up with red liquid as the human pulled back a small attachment. He then took the pointed part out, carefully, and put something small and beige-ish colored on the prick, stopping the bleeding. He looked at it for a moment, then turned his eyes to the human.

"So, what are you trying to figure out?" he asked. The human put a drop of blood on a small, clear piece of material, then put the square of material onto a gizmo Diego couldn't begin to comprehend. He looked down through two tube looked pieces, as though observing the dot, and turned two wheel looking things that were attached to the instrument.

"Your blood type." he replied. Diego raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, blood comes in different types?" he asked.

"Yes," the human replied, not taking his eyes off of his work. "We must find out what type yours is, so we will know what type to give you should you be seriously injured and have major blood loss."

"But If you only need one little drop to do that," Diego started. "then why did you take a whole... one of those." he finished, pointing at the instrument filled with his blood.

"It's called a syringe." the human replied, turning and jotting something down in a small book, then he turned back to the device. "That's not the only thing we use blood samples for."

"What else do you use them for?" Diego asked. The human glanced at him.

"Other things you wouldn't understand." he replied. Diego blinked, then frowned. He thought for a moment.

"Is there somebody who's going to teach me what you use my blood samples for?" he asked slowly. The human stiffened for a moment, then continued his work.

"I...can relate that you would like to learn such things. Perhaps someone can be placed to tutor you on biology and life science." he replied. Diego tilted his head to the side.

"_Biology and life science, sounds interesting._" he thought. "I would appreciate that." he said.

"Hmm." the human replied. "Ah, here we are." Diego tried to look past the human, but failed to see anything. "You a rare type; A positive."

"That's rare?" Diego asked. The human nodded and turned to him.

"Yes, usually someone with type A blood would have A negative." he replied.

"Oh." Diego said. "What type are you?" he asked.

"Type O."

"Is there a type for every letter you humans have?"

"No, just three. A,B, and O. There is A positive, A negative, B positive, Be negative, O positive, and O negative."

" Which are the ones that aren't rare?" Diego asked. The human opened his mouth to reply, then sighed. He waved a hand.

"I don't have time for this, I have important work to do. Just sit here and be quiet, please." he replied. Diego frowned sadly. He had actually been enjoying things for a change. He sighed as he waited silently for the human to finish his 'important work'. Looking around, he saw many things that intrigued and frightened him. His hands itched to examine each one, as though they wanted to practice their use. Diego looked at the human; he had his back to Diego, and didn't appear to be paying him any attention.

He stood up and inched his way over to a table with containers full of different colored liquids and jars with substances in them. He then picked one them up and examined it. There was a label that read 'Frog Livers'. He peered at the squishy masses of flesh floating around inside of the jar.

"Hey! Put that down!" Diego was so startled he dropped the jar onto the table. Thankfully, it didn't break open, but the human was very cross. "Can't you just sit still and be scared like a regular saber? I've never seen such a curios creature." he scolded. Diego took a step back in surprise. He looked at the floor ashamedly.

"_Sabers aren't supposed to be scared._" he thought. "_Then again, we're usually not very curios either._" The human sighed in exasperation.

"Please, just _sit still_." he commanded. Diego put his head down at stared at the floor, shuffling his feet. "Look, I'm sorry. I know this is all new to you, but this is a difficult job, and it would help knowing that you weren't messing with anything, okay?" he apologized. Diego looked up at him. He smiled at Diego, then turned back to his device. Diego sighed.

What did the human need him for if he was so focused on the blood sample? He looked around, and saw the door. He looked back at the human. "_I could just leave while he's busy. He doesn't really need me. He won't even notice._" Diego slowly inched over to the door, and grabbed the small, circular attachment.

He turned it slowly, wincing as the normally quiet noise seemed amplified. He pulled the door open, and stepped out, shutting it behind him. He looked left and right, deciding to head left, and walked off. He passed many doors, but didn't dare open any of them, lest he get into trouble. He came across a large piece of clear are in the wall, and peeked out. It was another are where humans in white cloth would go about their business. Diego watched them in interest for a while, before something caught his eyes in the back of the room.

Sid was struggling in the grip of two humans, desperately trying to get away from them. His eyes widened. Frowning angrily, he stomped over to a door near the see through section of the wall, and flung it open. He could hear the havoc Sid was making, the screaming, the pleading, the humans themselves were calling for help. Diego stomped down the steps, and marched over to where Sid was. The other humans stared at him in shock, and froze. When he reached the sloth, he tore the humans' hands off of him and wrapped and arm around the him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Diego demanded. The humans looked at each other. Diego put a hand on his hip, curling his lower lip in distaste. "Well? Someone tell me, now!" Everyone stared at him for a few moments, before the sound of something hard hitting the floor reached Diego's ears. He turned, still grasping Sid, to see Margaret angrily striding over to him, scowling.

"What's going on here?" he asked when she stood in front of him. "We had a deal, you treat them nice, I behave nice." he said. Margaret gritted her teeth for a moment before replying.

"Yes, well I lied to you. I didn't think Brutus would let you escape so easily." she replied. Diego's eyes widened in fury. He let go of Sid and wrapped both of his hands around Margaret's throat, tightly. She gasped and tried to pry his hands off, but he held fast. A few humans stepped forward, pointing weapons at him.

"One more step and I'll strangle her!" he threatened. Margaret's eyes widened even more. The humans froze, apparently at a loss. He doubted anyone had ever gotten this close to killing Margaret before, so none of them knew what to do. He glared the female human in the eye, and she stared back at him, as though attempting to look threatening. "You hold up your end of the deal," he hissed. "and I'll hold up mine."

He released her throat, causing her to drop to her knees. She looked up at him, breathing raggedly. The glare in her eyes intensified. "I will hurt the ones who you love, and I will make you suffer physically," she started, then raised her voice to a yell. "just, like you did to me!" Diego glared at her, and felt is upper lip curl, and a growl reverberated out of his throat. Even he was surprised.

"I'd like to see you try, _sweetheart_." he challenged. He wrapped an arm around Sid, feeling the sloth quiver in his grip. Margaret stood, and continued to glare at him. She snapped her fingers, and the humans with weapons surrounded Diego and Sid.

* * *

So what do you all thin? mwang, what do you think? Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Peaches Too

Greetings! Chapter three is here, mwang! And anyone else who is reading this. Hope you all enjoy! I guess the title does kind give stuff away, but oh well.

* * *

Ice Age 4: New World, New Problems

Chapter 3: Peaches Too

Diego looked around at the humans. The next thing he knew, he was being shoved down a hallway, with Sid once again being held by one of the humans. "Hey! Hey!" he protested. Margaret walked on ahead of them all, her shoes clicking angrily against the floor. The back of the shoes were very high, and Diego wondered if it affected her feet at all. They were led up some stairs, and Diego realized that they were going to the room where the rest of the herd was.

Margaret turned and opened the door leading to the herd's room, then walked in. The rest of the humans followed, shoving Diego and Sid inside as well. Margaret produced a key from a pocket on her clothes, and opened one of the cell doors. " Sid!" Diego turned to see Crash and Eddie staring at them.

"Diego? What are you doing here?" Eddie asked. Before Diego could even attempt to reply, both he and Sid were shoved into the sloth's cell, and then locked inside of it. Diego scrambled to his feet and reached through the bars, grabbing Margaret's hair and yanking her head up against the bars. She yelped in surprise and struggled to free herself.

"Let us out of here!" he demanded. Margaret jabbed him in the gut with her fist, but the impact was on her. Diego had rock hard abs, and her fist was tingling from the shock.

"You let me go, or I'll sick one of these men on your _friends_!" she hissed. Diego scowled and released her hair. She jerked away and ran her delicate looking fingers through her blond locks, glaring. Diego looked over at the cell where Manny, Ellie, and Peaches were kept. But Peaches wasn't there. "Where's Peaches?" he asked. Ellie cast solemn eyes to the floor.

Manny looked at him remorsefully. Diego reached out and grabbed Margaret's hair again, pulling her close and pressing her head against the bars, causing her to squeal.

"Where is Peaches?" he demanded.

"Peaches?" Margaret asked, confused.

"The little mammoth girl, where is she?" Diego asked.

"We put her in the nursery." Margaret replied.

"Nursery? What's a nursery?" Diego asked. Margaret gritted her teeth before replying.

"It's a place where babies are kept, nannies tend to them while their mothers are out and/or cannot take care of them."

"Well Ellie is in perfect condition to care for her daughter, so bring her back in here _now_!" Diego commanded.

"Make me." Margaret challenged. Diego narrowed his eyes.

"You better start complying, _sweetheart_, cause I'm tired of all this." he said. "Go send one of your males to bring Peaches back here, or I'll rip every single golden blond hair off of your head!" he threatened. Margaret scowled. She looked over at one of the men and pointed at him.

"You!" she said. "Go get the little mammoth and bring her back in here to her mother. Now!" she commanded. The man hurried off. Margaret looked back at Diego. "Well?" she asked.

"I think I'll hold on to you, just to make sure you don't mess anything up on accident." he replied. Margaret huffed and folded her arms, waiting for the man to come back with Peaches. When he finally returned, Diego waited until Peaches was in the cell with Ellie and the door was locked before releasing Margaret. "Thank you." he said. Margaret huffed once more and strode out of the room, the men following her. Diego sighed and leaned his head against the bars.

He turned to look at Sid, who sat on the floor a few feet to his left. He sat down cross legged, facing the sloth. Sid stared at him, awe written on his face. "Alright," he said. "I don't care how long it takes, I need to learn how to communicate with you all."

* * *

Margaret stalked angrily down the halls, her heels clicking against the floor with annoyance, huffing in anger every few seconds. How dare that _experiment_ put his hands on her? Not to mention hold her captive I such a way that invaded her private space! She subconsciously ran her fingers through her golden blond hair again; she could still feel a pull on her scalp from the rough handling. She would make him pay for every single thing he did to her and Tony, even if it meant killing him. She burst angrily into her quarters, and sat down at her writing desk, rubbing her temples. She had a kitchen like Tony's, but her den wasn't as lavishly decorated.

She had a nice couch, a few love seats, an armchair, and a forty two inch flat screen tv mounted on the wall. To the right of her door was her bedroom, and to the left of her door was a bathroom, in contrast to Tony's quarters, where he had a bathroom adjoining his bedroom. As she calmed down, she took notice of the things on her desk, which was set up in front of the armchair. There was a piece of paper with an unfinished letter written on it, with a capped calligraphy pen laying across it. She sighed and placed her finger tips on the smooth wooden desk, before picking up the pen, uncapping it, and reading over the letter. Once she got to the place she had left off, she began writing again, as she had been before she had been called by intercom to come take care of the experiment and his friend. An idea suddenly struck her, and she smiled with utmost evil.

She pressed a button on her desk. " Colgen?" she asked. A male voice replied from a speaker on the desk.

"Yes ma'am?"

"I want the experiment and his friends to suffer. And I know just how to make them crumble."

* * *

Diego added an even lower growl to his voice as he spoke. "How's this?" he asked. Sid nodded.

"Almost, your voice is a little higher than it usually sounds. Diego added a growl that was just a notch lower. How about now?" Sid smiled.

"Perfect!" Diego smiled back.

" Good. Things should be a little easier between us all now." Manny and Elie had come to the far side of their cell to watch the goings on and help Diego get his voice pitched right, while Crash and Eddie had scurried through the bars of all three cells and sat with Diego and Sid.

"I hope so. It's been kind of weird the last week or so, not being with you, not hearing you talk correctly." Diego looked at them, startled.

"Week?" he asked. Ellie nodded.

"It's been about ten days since the humans took you away." she explained. Diego sat frozen for a moment.

"Wow," he said, looking at the ground. "I can't believe it took that long for me to..." he left the sentence hanging.

"To what?" Sid asked. Diego glanced up at him, and then at Manny. There was a look in the mammoth's eyes that said he knew exactly what Diego was talking about. Diego shook his head. "Nothing." he replied to Sid's question.

"So what happens now?" Eddie asked. Diego shrugged.

"I don't know." he replied. "The lovely Margarita might decide to give us all some sort of liquid creation they made, or something else terrible." he said sarcastically. Crash snickered.

"I surely hope not." Manny stated. "I've had enough of these humans and their ways. I'd like to know where we are for a change."

"What do you mean where we are?" Sid asked. "We're in a human structure filled with deranged humans who have already messed Diego up. What else is there to know?" Diego felt his blood freeze at Sid's statement. He looked away.

"_Messed up?_" he thought.

"Uh, Sid?"

"What?"

"Shut up." Manny answered. Sid turned to look at Diego.

"Oh, no I didn't mean..." Diego sighed.

"It's fine." he said in a voice that said it clearly wasn't fine.

"Diego I'm sorry." Diego opened his mouth to reply, but the door to the herd's prison was opened, and a handful of human men came in.

Switching back to human dialect, Diego grabbed the collar of the human nearest him, and yanked him up against the bars as he had with Margaret. The human let out a startled "Gaa!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Diego demanded.

"Carrying out miss Shellfain's orders." the human replied, then reached up and grabbed Diego's hand. He tried to pry it loose, but to no avail. He finally sighed and waited for Diego to release him.

"And what might this _Shellfain's_ orders be?" Diego asked. The human waited a moment before replying.

"She wants the little mammoth female." Diego's could feel his eyes blazing with anger.

"And what might she want Peaches for?" he asked. The human gave him a quizzical stare, then answered.

"She wishes to, well, put her into the same world as you." he replied. Diego flexed his arm out, and then bet it once more in the fraction of a second, banging the human's head against the bars.

"WHAT?" he screeched.

* * *

Margaret smirked in satisfaction as the little mammoth, known as Peaches, was brought into the room they had used to house the saber during his transformation. The bed cloths had been washed and dried, and the bed remade. Peaches huddled in a ball on top of the bed, already wearing human clothes that would fit her transformed body. She whimpered and squealed as one of the scientists inserted the needle into her flesh, and injected the substance. In two seconds, she was out cold. "Alright, I'll take it from here. The rest of you out!" she commanded.

She waited until she was alone with the mammoth before coming over and sitting on the bed. She smiled tenderly, and watched as the transformation began to take place.

* * *

Diego, for the fifth time, rammed his shoulder against the bars that kept him in the cell and stopped him from getting to Peaches. "Diego just calm down! We're not gonna' get out of here by just banging around." Sid reasoned. Ellie slapped her trunk over Sid's mouth.

"He can do whatever he wants to get my baby back!" she hissed. Diego stood for a moment, panting from exhaustion. He murmured angrily to himself in human dialect.

"This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. If I had just not trusted them from the start, things wouldn't be this way." He leaned his forehead against the bars of his cell door. He gritted his teeth, parting his lips angrily.

"Uh, Diego?" Diego sighed and closed his eyes.

"Not now Crash."

"Diego, your-"

"I said _not now_ Eddie."

"Are you okay?" Diego opened his eyes and turned his head at the sound of Manny's voice. He sighed.

"No." He felt a furry trunk wrap around his face.

"It's okay. We're not mad at you." Manny comforted. Diego sighed again.

"I know. I'm just surprised you and Ellie aren't freaking out." he replied.

"Well, we need to keep our heads level if we're going to get out of this, right?" Manny asked. Diego smiled at him. "Besides, our actions could decide whether Peaches lives or not." Diego frowned once more. He stepped away from the door, and Manny removed his trunk. Diego glared at the bars angrily.

"Manny?" he asked. "Have you ever wanted to just, _hit_ something?"

"Um, yes, quite a few times actually."

"And have you ever gotten hurt from doing so?"

"Um, yes."

"So you'll understand if what I do in a moment breaks my foot?"

"Uhhh..." Diego picked up his left foot and kicked the door with the bottom of his foot, letting out a cry of anger. The lock broke and the door flew open. Everyone stood frozen, before Diego grinned widely. Stepping out, he went next door to Manny and Ellie's door, and kicked it in the same spot, only from the outside. The lock broke and the door flew open. Crash and Eddie scurried out between the bars, and the herd was together. "Okay, here's what we're gonna' do," Diego said.

* * *

Peaches opened her eyes drearily. She felt strange and afraid, and looked at herself. She screamed, but a kind, gentle voice stopped her franticness. "Sh, it's alright little one." Peaches looked up to see the blond human lady that her uncle Diego had been holding the hair of earlier. She backed away, and realized she was in a human bed. She looked around for a means of escape. "Don't be afraid Peaches." the human said. Peaches looked at her, her eyes widening.

"H-how do you know my name?" she asked. The human smiled tenderly and cupped her chin with one hand.

"Your friend Diego told me. You see, you're parents didn't want to end up the way he did, so they said for us to transform you instead, since we need only two of you." she explained. Peaches stared at her in horror.

"You mean, my mommy doesn't want me?" she asked. The lady nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry dear. Your father didn't like the idea, but he agreed." Peached felt tears welling up in her eyes.

* * *

"Okay, everyone clear on what to do?" Diego asked. Everyone nodded, and Sid gave him a thumbs up. Diego nodded. "Alright, move out!"

* * *

So what do you think? I'll explain more about the Colgen guy later, it was just a name I had to come up with, but I'll explain about him later. Well, Xion, there's more going on here than it seems. Much more. So I hope this is satisfying to everyone. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4: How Do We Get Out?

Hey I'm back! Sorry it's been so long, but my flash drive almost got ruined, but thankfully it still works so this story is continuing! I know it's short, but I'll try and make the next one longer. Enjoy!

* * *

Ice Age: New World, New Problems

Chapter 4:

Diego cautiously opened the door, and peeked out. Looking around, he saw no one. "Diego?" He turned to Sid, who hid behind him. "Are you sure you're gonna' be alright?" Diego smiled.

"I'll be fine. You and the twins get Manny and Ellie out, then find a way out of this place. I'll meet up with you once I find Peaches." he assured. "Ready?" Sid and the possums nodded. After one last peek outside, Diego opened the door all the way and dashed left. He sprinted down the stairs, with Sid, Crash, and Eddie right behind him.

Then the three went left to set the mammoths free, while Diego continued straight, down another hallway. When he came to a corner, he pressed himself up against the wall and peeked around. No humans were in sight, so he continued on, walking. He came to a right turn, and once again pressed himself up against the wall. Peeking around, he saw two humans standing guard outside one door. Their conversation reached his ears.

"Actually, this time they took the mammoth baby. Put her in the same room as that saber. Can't wait to see how things turn out for those two." one of them said. Diego's heart stopped.

"Is it gonna' take another ten days?" the other human asked.

"Nah, this one's younger and smaller. Shouldn't take even half an hour." Diego felt himself trembling. Peaches had been gone for only a few minutes. As quietly as he could, he turned and fled in the opposite direction. Making sure no one was looking, he raced up the stairs and turned into the hallway that led to the room he had woken up in. He walked until he came to a door with a window in it.

"Don't worry dear. We'll take care of you. It's your herd's loss." Diego didn't know what kind of junk Margaret was planting in Peaches' mind, but it didn't sound good. Deciding he needed quick entry, he kicked the door open, and rushed in. He wrapped his arms around a young human girl who looked to be around six years old, with brown skin and black hair. He knew this had to be his niece.

She let out a gasp and looked up at him.

"Uncle Diego?" she asked. Diego looked down at her compassionately.

"Don't listen to her Peaches, whatever she said." He picked her up, holding her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Margaret jumped to her feet angrily.

"You give her to me this instant!" she demanded. Diego turned Peaches away.

"You stay away from my niece!" he shouted. Then he turned and ran out of the open door, and down the hall, out the other doorway, across the platform, and down the steps.

* * *

Crash and Eddie scouted ahead. They went forward, down a hallway. There was a turn to the left, and no humans in sight past the corner. They gestured to the herd to come forward. Sid followed them around the corner, but Manny and Ellie were too big to fit into the low hallway. "Guys!" The possums and Sid turned to them.

"We'll hang around here and alert you if anyone comes." Ellie said. The three nodded. They walked along slowly, looking at all of the doors. Sid sighed.

"I wish we could read human stuff." he said. "Then we'd now which door to take to get out of here." He peeked in one of the windows, and saw humans sitting in chairs, busy with work he couldn't begin to comprehend. As they continued on, they came to a right turn, and peeked past the corner. Two humans stood guard in front of one door, chatting. They leaned back over to their own side. "What are we gonna' do?" Sid asked the twins.

"We need some sort of distraction." Eddie said.

"But what can we use to distract two humans?" Crash asked.

* * *

Diego saw Manny and Ellie laying in front of the hallway he had taken earlier and made his way over to them. "Manny! Ellie!" he said. The two mammoths turned to look at him.

"Diego! Thank goodness!" Ellie said. Peaches, still in Diego's embrace, looked up at her mother fearfully.

"Mommy?" she asked quietly. Diego looked away, unable to meet his friends' eyes.

"Peaches?" Ellie asked. Diego released the human girl from her grip so Ellie could wrap her trunk around her. "Oh, Peaches my baby!" she said, holding her daughter close. Manny stroked Peaches' head sadly.

"I'm sorry." Diego apologized. "Her change was faster because she was younger. I, I couldn't get there in time." Manny sighed. Peaches looked up at him, fear in her eyes. He smiled at her, and gently stroked her face.

"Don't worry Peaches. We still love you. We're gonna' get both you and Uncle Diego back to normal." he assured. Peaches gave him a tiny smile.

"Hey, where are Sid, Crash, and Eddie?" Diego asked.

"They went that way." Ellie replied, pointing down the hallway with her trunk. "They're trying to find a way out." Diego walked past the mammoths, going down the hallway. He soon found the trio hiding from the pair of human guards, and joined them.

"Diego! We need your help!" Sid said.

"How do you distract two humans so we can get outta' here?" Eddie asked. Diego looked at him for a moment.

"Like this." he replied. He walked past the corner and strode up to the two humans.

"Hey! Who are you? What doing here?" one of them asked, pointing his weapon at Diego. The other did the same with his weapon. Diego held his hands up, and continued to approach them.

"Easy fella's, I'm just trying to help my friends out." he said in human dialect. The two humans looked at each other in confusion.

"How are you supposed to help your friends?" the same one asked.

"You see, I have to-" Diego started, then socked both humans in the head, knocking them unconscious. He smiled proudly at his handiwork. Sid, Crash, and Eddie came over and stood beside him.

"Wow." was Sid's one word comment.

"Right, now we have to find a way to get Manny and Ellie out of here." Diego said. He opened the door, and all three of them ran outside.

"So how are we supposed to find a way to get them out?" Crash asked. Diego scanned the side of the building.

"We have to find a door big enough." he replied.

"Door?" Sid asked. Diego looked at him.

"Yes, door. How do you think we got out here?" he replied. Looking at the building again, Diego took some steps back. He soon saw something that made his eyes widen, and a smile spread across his lips. He ran back to the building. "Come on! I know what to do!" he said.

* * *

So how was it? Did you like it? Or did it stink? Review!


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